Beneath The Peach Tree
by AverageLucas
Summary: AU.Tensions between the Chinese Federation are at it's peak, fearing war, Prime Minister Schneizel sends Lelouch to the Chinese Federation to ease the tension and make the future governors of the two nations closer. For years they develop a close bond, and become best friends, but what happens when the young empress wants something more?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello thanks for reading this story, I'm sorry for any grammar and expression errors, English is not my first language and I was too lazy to double check it.**

**I plan on this story to be a 4-6 chapters short-story, updates will be slow, since this is on the sidelines, I'm focusing more on my other FF, this was just an idea I had after reading The Shard of Flame Ice's story ****The Coalescence of Cherry and Lavender, it's a great story, and this one is heavily inspired on it, I recommend you all read it.**

******Please review and tell me what you think about it. **  


* * *

Schneizel el Britannia exhaled in frustration.

The young prime minister briskly walked around the palace halls, bringing his hands to his head in desperation.

The reason for his distress?, simple, tensions between the Britannian empire and the Chinese federation were running high, with the newly acquired Japan border friction was at its limit. War would soon break out, the confrontation between both superpowers would be disastrous.

So Schneizel did what a good prime minister should, he went and informed his majesty the emperor of the situation and ask what course of action should he take.

The problem?, his majesty's only response was to instruct him to stop troubling him with mundane matters, that he should handle them himself. Schneizel laughed hysterically at that, war was about to break out with the only force powerful enough to inflict serious damage to the empire, not to mention millions would die.

And what did the emperor think of that?, nothing that's what, he called it a mundane matter.

Schneizel carried on through the halls, to anyone, the stone cold face of the prince wouldn't know of the near nervous breakdown the prince was suffering, after all being good politician ment keeping appearances, and that was exactly what Schneizel was doing.

He walked quickly out into the gardens of the Villa, a fresh breeze hit his face almost making him forget about the current situation, he smiled as he saw the familiar faces in the garden, a pinked-haired girl was running behind a brunette both of them giggling, from the corner of his eye he could see the former knight of two and empress of Britannia drinking tea and talking with the young, purple-haired captain of her guard.

However what caught his interest was the ten-year old prince playing chess against his flamboyant older brother while a young blonde, who he could only assume was the Ashford heir, animatedly cheered for him.

He sat on a nearby chair to observe the conclusion of the game, he turned his eyes from the chess board opting to watch the young prince himself.

He could see his raven locks falling smoothly on his face, brow furrowing in concentration as he studied the chess board with the utmost care, his hand slowly moved out into the board, reaching for a piece, he could glimpse at a flash on his eyes that informed him that the prince had decided which piece to move and where to move it. The prince's hand, that until that point had moved at a deliberate slow pace, lashed out swiftly, grabbing his queen and taking one of the flamboyant price rooks with it.

"Checkmate"

Indeed it was.

The young prince averted his eyes from the board, turning to see the recent arrival, while the flamboyant prince frantically tried to get out of check, of course to no avail.

"Brother, come to play a game of chess?" asked Lelouch with an almost nervous disposition, after all Schneizel was still undefeated in their games.

Schneizel was going to decline, but after a moment he thought that maybe a game of chess was exactly what he needed to clear his mind and come up with a solution with his problem.

"Are you up to it?", he challenged the young boy.

It seemed he was as he quickly sat down and started to put his black pieces in their place. Schneizel wordlessly sat down and did the same with the defeated pieces of the one that came before him.

He observed the boy in front of him, he was an exceptional chess player and he had no doubt that one day he would beat him. Someone in royal family vying for the throne like him could see the potential danger Lelouch would represent in the future. However where some saw an enemy he saw and ally, Lelouch will be a big player and it would be wise to have him as a friend rather than an enemy.

If it seemed like Schneizel had put a lot of thought into this it's because he had put a lot of thought into this, he intended to make Lelouch his prime minister and make him the most powerful man in the empire, after him of course.

He thought of his response move, after all he was still playing chess, but before he could continue a pink blur tackled Lelouch to the ground.

"Lelouch is going to marry me!" Came Euphie's cry.

"Naha he is going to marry me!" Came the equally loud response from Nunnally.

"TELL HER YOU ARE GOING TO MARRY ME!" they both screamed at the same time.

The blonde Ashford heir seemed very amused at Lelouch situation and decided to have some fun at his expense.

"Oh didn't you tell them Lulu" she deviously said, she brought a hand to her chest and made the most stuck up and ladylike pose she could muster and continued "he is going to marry me ".

Schneizel decide to join the fun, much to Lelouch's dismay, "you know that might just happen, since your family is close to the empress they might just try to marry you two off, that way they can increase their family's …" suddenly an idea popped into his mind, a plan that just might prevent war and make future relations with the Chinese Federation easier, "social status" he finished, almost whispering the words.

He eyed the bickering kids that had gone on a frenzy do to Schnizel's contribution to the argument, but more importantly he eyed Lelouch, he was the key to all of this.

He excused himself and walked towards a more secluded part of the garden where he could think freely, the chess game now forgotten. He slowly walked to the pond on the other side of the garden, and considering the size of the garden it was pretty far away. He sat on one of the big rocks that were besides the pond, putting his hand beneath his chin in thought. There were small sloshing sounds emanating from the pond, probably fish, still it didn't disrupt his thinking.

He was aware of the current Chinese government, there was a young empress, about eight years old, however the power was on the hands of the high eunuchs, self-centered politicians that only cared for power. In fact this situation had made dealings with the Chinese Federation easier, since the eunuchs were very susceptible to the charms of power.

Nevertheless he couldn't just simply marry Lelouch to the Tianzi, even though the eunuchs would gladly accept in exchange for lands and titles, the rest of China would be resistant and probably stage a coup de ta and increase the already rising tensions tenfold.

What he could do was send Lelouch to form a friendship with the young empress, it would decrease the tension now, and the future leaders of the country would be well acquainted and civil with each other, once the eunuchs were taken out of the picture of course.

The only thing that was missing was the emperor's consent.

'_To hell with him, after all he did say "take care of these mundane matters yourself"' _

He grinned wildly as he had found the answer to his predicament, he enthusiastically walked back to meet the still bickering children, once he could see Lelouch he exclaimed in a jovial tone "Hey Lelouch how would you like to meet a new friend!"

The only response he got was a confused look from everyone in the garden.

* * *

"What?" asked an upset Lelouch.

"What you heard" replied Schneizel, as he walked around the couch where Lelouch was sitting, he reached the table where a pot with tea was steaming, he poured himself some and inhaled deeply.

"This is very important, war could break out anytime now" he slowly walked to the opposite chair to Lelouch and sat down, he took a careful sip from his cup and continued.

"I need you to do this"

"But why me? you could send Clovis, I think he would like that, or what about Euphy or any of the royal family?" he drank his tea on one gulp, a clear sign of his uneasiness, he pushed himself forward and asked one last question "What about them?"

Schneizel loudly sighed, he knew that Lelouch was smart enough to figure out the reasons why he was sending him instead of someone else, that he didn't want to see them because he wanted to stay with Nunnally was another matter.

He leaned forward as well "Clovis, really? I thought you were smarter than that, besides he is too old for this and we both know Euphy and Nunnally are too young", he saw the young boy stiffen at the thought of Nunnally going away ran through his mind "and what can I tell you about the rest of the royal family, Odysseus is useless, Carine thrives on pain, and Guinevere is called 'Britannia's Marie Antoinette', would you send them?" he questioned with an inquisitive look.

Lelouch was about to respond, but stopped as he saw his brother's reasoning, he was not dumb, he knew he was the only viable candidate for this project, the young prince held his head in thought.

Schneizel knew what was troubling his younger brother, he leaned back into the chair and took a careful sip of his tea and put Lelouch worries to rest "Of course you'll be able to come and visit Nunnally every once in awhile"

This made the visibly siff boy relax "How long is the program?"

"You will go for 1 or 2 years at the most" he calmly responded.

The young boy slowly nodded accepting defeat and leaned back onto the chair.

"When will I be leaving?"

"Tomorrow, your mother already knows, I recommend you tell Nunnally and Euphie to tell them goodbye"

The boy nodded yet again "I understand"

* * *

Jiang Lihua, the Chinese Tianzi, fidgeted nervously with her fingers, she averted her eyes from the main palace doors refusing to look at them. The eunuchs told her that she was going to meet a very important friend, and that she had to treat him well, that she had to be careful not to mess it up.

The seven-year old girl, was very excited she was going to have a friend, a real friend, but she also was afraid, afraid that she would mess up like the eunuchs told her.

She heard the palace doors open and quickly close her eyes in reflex. "Child open your eyes and greet our guests, don't offend them" told her one of the eunuchs with venom in his voice. She tried to raise her head and open her eyes, but they wouldn't budge, '_I messed everything up, now he won't like me'_

"It's ok, take your time we don't mind" came the voice of one of the strangers. Now filled with courage, Jiang lifted her head and opened her eyes. Once she did she was amazed, in front of her stood the handsomest boy she had ever seen, he was dressed in black, and had the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen, besides him stood a taller man, dressed in white and with blonde hair.

"Hello, young empress" the second man said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm prime minister Schneizel, and this is my brother, prince Lelouch, he is here to be your new friend".

"It's a pleasure" said the boy, he could only be 3 or 2 years older than her she thought.

"I-It's also a ple-pleasure to meet y-you" she said trying not to stutter and blushing furiously.

'_I messed up, I messed up, I messed up'_ was the only thing running through her head

Unnoticed by the empress was the elbow bump given to the prince by his older brother.

"Empress, I think is time we get acquainted" said the young prince.

She furiously nodded and downcast her head to hide her blush. "A most splendid idea" said one of the eunuchs, the others nodded and prepared to accompany the empress.

"I think is better that they go on their own" Said Schneizel with a menacing gaze, the eunuchs looked at each other and nodded, "of course how foolish of us, it's better that they go alone" said an eunuch, voice dripping with contempt.

Jiang timidly walked near him, he extended his arm to her, she looked at it confused, now one had offered her an arm before. She cautiously wrapped her arm around his own, blushing furiously while she did.

Once her arm was wrapped around his, he called a man she hadn't even seen, "Jerimiah, please bring my luggage to my room"

"At once your majesty"

He turned back at her making her blush even more, "Where do you want to go?"

"What?" she asked confused, no one had ever asked her what she wanted to do, it made her all fuzzy and warm inside.

"I asked you where you wanted to go" he said.

She gasped "really?, I mean are you letting me choose?"

He looked at her, bewilderment all over his face, "of course" he replied.

She looked at her feet, "I like the gardens"

"Then let's go there" he told her.

They walked in silence, only talking when Lelouch asked for directions.

Once they reached the gardens she pointed at the old peach tree "That's my favorite spot". He nodded and started to walk towards the tree.

The old peach tree was majestic, it was big, the branches looked like tendrils hugging the sky, the pink flowers ruffled with every breeze.

They sat under the peach tree, and Jiang could hold it anymore, she started to cry.

"Hey why are you crying?" asked a concerned Lelouch.

"I'm a h-horrible friend, I can't say any-anything without stuttering, I can't ev-even look you in the ey-eye when I'm tal-talking to you, you must pro-probably hate me now" she sobbed.

"Hey you're not a horrible friend, you've been nothing but polite to me" he leaned near her and started to wipe of her tears, "It's ok to be shy, there is nothing wrong with it" he continued, while wiping off her tears.

She sniffled, "rea-really?".

He brought his other hand forward.

"Pinky promise"

* * *

Schneizel smiled as he saw the two royals interacting with each other, Lelouch had instantly charmed the girl as he expected. And Lelouch seemed to have taken a liking to her too.

They had spent the day together, under the peach tree. The first half of the day had been spent playing chess or rather Lelouch taught the young princess how to play even though the girl looked like they were explaining nuclear physics to her, she seemed to be enjoying more the fact that someone was taking his time to teach her something.

The other half of the day was spent making tea or rather, Jiang taught Lelouch how to make tea, it was his turn to look like they were explaining nuclear physics to him, but he seemed determine to figure out the secret of making good tea.

The younglings were becoming fast friends, and Schneizel had faith in the program.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the positive feedback, I took some of your advices others I didn't, please review and tell me what you think.**

**Sorry for grams and expression, enjoy the story. **

* * *

"AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" screamed Lelouch in frustration, bringing his hands to his hair and almost pulling it out. He stood up and stomped away from the peach tree into the sun, the place he always went when he needed a "_timeout" ._

Lihua giggled, it had been four months since he had arrive and, still he could not make proper tea, '_he is as determined as ever though' _she thought happily, as she watched her friend trying to calm down. "You sure you don't want to do something else" she told him, the shyness from their first encounter now almost gone, she still blushed a lot, but she was no longer afraid of talking to him and the stutters were almost gone. They only appeared when she got insecure, or when he deliberately made her blush and embarrassed. He said she looked cute when she did and every time she thought about that she couldn't help but blush.

"NO! I will get it right this time!" he swiftly turned around and walked to where the different punches and instrument of making tea were. He sat down a got to work, an expression of utter concentration plastered in his face. She stared at him, her friend, her prince, she felt a fuzzy and warm sensation creep on her. "There!" he announced triumphantly, and took a sip from the cup of tea only to spit it out in disgust.

He turned red from anger, Lihua thought steam was going to come out of the young boy's ears any minute now. Suddenly a low "hnf" could be heard, her prince angrily turned his head to a greened-haired man "GOTTWALD!, are you mocking me!" he shouted at his knight, "never would dream of it your highness" came Jeremiah's voice, trying to hold the laughter.

Lihua giggled again at her friend's antics, she thought that maybe he was going to need another timeout. The prince faced her again, and dead serious asked a question "how do you do it?" she shrugged and blushed at the attention he was giving her. "Don't shrug I know there is a secret to it, I use the same measurements, water, teapot and I do everything like you do logically I should get the same results, so tell me how do you do it?"

She shrugged again and answered "maybe it just needs a little love". His eyes widen "that is not possible, it's not logical, in chess you don't win with love". She blinked a couple of times before answering "well, this isn't chess and it isn't about winning".

He looked at her with intensity "very well, Jeremiah it seems we've run out of supplies to make our tea, would you be so kind to get us more" he said. "At once your majesty" he said before walking off. Once he was in at a reasonable distance, he began to laugh his ass off.

"Come on lets play a game of chess while he comes back" he said pulling out a chess board, she groaned "but I'll lose again". He stared at her "that's good, you'll learn from your mistakes and become a better player, besides you are the only one I have trusted enough to tell my chess secrets, once I'm finished with you, you'll be able to beat almost anyone".

This filled her with renewed strength and will, he trusted her enough to teach her this, he thought she could become a good player, she would become the best player possible.

They were about to start when an envoy showed up. The envoy was a short and stout man, he wore a red tunic that reached his feet and gave a scent that smelled like oranges.

"My empress, the eunuchs request your presence at the mausoleum". Lihua's face fell to the ground, she didn't want to leave her friend, she wanted to make tea with him and to learn chess.

She nodded with sadness and started to make her way towards the mausoleum, but before she could, a hand shot out and grabbed her arm. A shock ran through her, not a painful one but a pleasant one, it felt like a connection had been made. She furiously blushed and stared at the ground, trying to hide it from the prince grabbing her arm. "You don't have to go if you don't want to" he said with a smooth but stern voice.

She looked at him "B-but th-", but before she could finished he cuts her off "what have I told you?" he asked her as she guided her to her seat, she was still avoiding his gaze. Once she sat down she looked at him and answered "you to-told me th-that I am the emp-empress and that I ha-have the po-power, not th-them, that I sho-should make m-my own deci-decisions" she looked at him with uncertainty, "so do you want to stay here?" he asked, she nodded. The prince turned around and said to the envoy "her majesty is occupied right now she will go when she is free". The envoy looked at him with disgust but complied, he vowed at the empress and left.

Once the envoy was gone, Lelouch turned around and spoke to Lihua "listen to me this is important" he kneeled in front of her and looked her in the eye, "you are staying here, not because I said so, and you are not going to the mausoleum because you don't want you, you are doing this because you want to, do you understand me?, the one that has the power here is you, you can and you should make your own decisions" she nodded meekly.

Seeing the state she was in he decided to break the tension "my, my Lihua you are looking especially lovely today" she smiled at the compliment and before he could say anything else, she pounced on him, wrapping her slender arms around the taller boy's neck, they both fell to the ground, Lihua being on top, and she whispered "thank you" before tightening the hug. He just gave her a squeeze.

They both closed their eyes and enjoyed the moment in complete silence, only the rhythmic sound of their breath and the ruffling of the peach tree could be heard, it was the perfect moment, but alas all perfect moments have to end, and this one did not end in happiness.

Without either of them knowing a man dressed in black snuck behind them. She forcefully grabbed Lihua and threw her three meters away, Lihua wailed and screamed but he man was too strong. Lelouch threw himself at him, successfully throwing him of balance and making something in the assassin's pocket fall with a click. The assassin kicked Lelouch in the gut, sending him flying towards the peach's trunk. The assassin looked for something in his pocket but he didn't find it, he unsheathed a knife and walked towards a cowering and crying Lihua preparing to finish the job.

The man was mere inches from the young empress, but before he could get any closer to the terrified girl, a loud bang echoed through the garden. The assassin's head exploded covering the young Tianzi with blood and bits and pieces of brain and skull. There a few meters away stood Lelouch, one hand in his stomach and the other holding a gun.

A crash could be heard as Jeremiah ran in sword in hand shouting something Lihua could not understand, behind him the different teas laid sprawled on the ground.

* * *

They laid there, the young empress pressed tightly against the prince, both his arms around her, tenderly encompassing her. The quiet sobs and sooth comforting words echoed through the room. The majestic room, with expensive furniture and elegant decoration was all but ignored by the too younglings in bed.

Once the assassin had been killed Lelouch had grabbed Lihua and ran towards a bathroom, or somewhere to clean her up, she had clung to him with a dead grip not letting go for anything, Lelouch had to get in the tub with her, so she could be cleaned up, since she wasn't letting go.

After that the palace had gone on lockdown, guards were posted on every corner of it, and Jeremiah stood vigilant outside the empress' room, not letting anyone through. Lihua after her traumatic experience didn't let Lelouch leave, not that he wanted to but the girl clung to him like she was hanging onto life itself.

"I'm sorry" he whispered in her ear as he felt her tears trickle down his chest "I should have known that man wasn't an envoy, I shouldn't have sent Jeremiah away, it was a stupid mistake" the girl didn't seem to hear him, she seemed more preoccupied with holding on to him. He sighed feeling guilty for such a stupid mistake, he was a prince he should have seen it coming, he failed her '_I must get someone who won't'_.

He shuffled a bit to get on a more comfortable, this caused the girl to tighten her already strong grip on him. "We have to get you a bodyguard, someone loyal to you and you alone" she didn't give any indication of hearing him, she just continued crying, "I won't always be the-".

She hugged him tighter, if it was even possible, and screamed before he could finish "NO! don't go ple-please stay here wi-with me, I'm sc-scared please do-don't go, please don't y-you ever go..." her voice was muffled by his chest, and cracked as she struggled to get the last word out, "away" she whispered.

Lelouch's heart cringed, she thought he was going to leave her. "Please don't go, stay with me tonight, don't let _them_ hurt me" she managed to get out, the fear in her voice made Lelouch tighten the hug, this seemed to bring some comfort to the girl who snuggled into his chest even more.

"I won't let them do anything to you, I swear, I will not leave you, for as long as I live I will do everything in my power for those who seek to harm you" he separated from her, even though she tried with all her might to stop him, he gently grabbed her chin and lifted her head, looking her in the eye "I'm here, and I won't leave, I won't let them hurt you".

This appeared to calm the girl, who once he releases her snuggled against his chest once again, however, not as tight as before. He heard her sobs slowly turning into sniffles and those soon found their way into becoming light snores.

They slept together that night, Lelouch's arms protectively wrapped around her.

* * *

A few day pass the incident, Lihua still feared most people, the only ones she felt safe was with Lelouch and Jeremiah. They resided in the peach tree, Jeremiah with his hand on the sword's hilt prepared for anything, while Lihua inspected the piece of paper Lelouch had given her.

In the paper where the different photos of 'candidates' for being her bodyguard, all of them loyal to the empress, and not the eunuchs, of that Lelouch had made sure of when he made the list.

Lelouch knew this was difficult, asking her to trust someone after what happened the other day. Truth be told, Lelouch was impressed at the young girl's strength and fortitude, just a few days pass she had tried to be assassinated, and she already was walking around the palace again, of course Lelouch had to sleep with her, and she was scared when he wasn't there, but considering her age it was a fantastic recovery, a lesser person would have been destroyed, she was remarkably strong-willed for such a shy person.

"I don't know anyone in this list I don't trust them" she told him fidgeting with her fingers, he nodded, understanding, "I know it's difficult, but we need allies and people loyal to you" he assured her. She looked at the paper once again, examining its contents, she opened her mouth to say something but quickly changed her mind, this process repeated itself for a few minutes while Lelouch patiently waited her answer.

Before she could give him his answer the eunuchs appeared with soldier and a prisoner on the far side of the garden. "Execute him" exclaimed one of the eunuchs, the fat soldier complied and started to walk, pushing the prisoner. Suddenly the prisoner broke free and ran towards the empress, Jeremiah unsheathed his sword and stood prepared for the prisoners attack. However the fat soldier managed to tackle him before he got there.

The eunuchs arrived shortly after "execute him" they ordered again, the soldier nodded and began to raise the prisoner's body" but before he could finish this task, Lihua saw something in the captive's eyes, she didn't see the killer intent that she saw in the assassin's, she saw kindness, compassion, and awe. That's when she realized he was directly staring at her.

She couldn't explain it, but she needed to know what the man did before he got executed, "What did he do?" she asked with a timid voice, the soldier looked at her and vowed "he was caught giving medicine to a prisoner, my Lady", she was confused, he didn't do anything wrong, why was he being punished, "he didn't do anything wrong, he shouldn't be punished" she said, stunning the soldier, the prisoner and the eunuchs, Lelouch just stepped aside, a spark of interest glowing in his eyes.

"Don't be foolish child", said an eunuch, "execute him" another ordered to the soldier. "No" came Lihua's voice with never before seen confidence, "he didn't do anything wrong, he shouldn't be punished, I'm the empress and I order that he'd be spared" she turned her head to the prisoner and asked "what is your name?" the now free man stared at her with awe, "Li Xingke, my lady", she nodded, "and tell me Xingke, do you swear loyalty to me, the Tianzi", Xingke nodded, "yes my lady".

She turned at the soldier "what's your name" she asked him, "Hong Gu, my lady" she nodded, "get him a clean clothes, a room, and warm food, once he has all of those make him report back to me" the soldier nodded and walked away with the now free man, she turned her head towards the shocked eunuchs, "you are dismissed".

Once the eunuchs were out of the gardens, she released the breath she unctuously had held and turned to Lelouch. He stood there with an eyebrow quirked and a smirk adorning his face. He clapped, "I'm impressed, you stood up to the eunuchs, but not only that you also stood up to me, you did what you wanted, not what I or the eunuchs told you." he made a small pause, "and I'm proud of you".

There may had been a recent attempt on her life but for the rest of the day, Lihua was beaming.

* * *

LI Xingke inspected the uniform that laid in front of him, he could not believe his luck, the Tianzi had pardoned him, he would be eternally grateful and would serve her with undying loyalty. However he was worried, at the peach tree he saw a Britannian prince, the eunuchs were selling his country and empress off, he couldn't allow that.

There was a light knock on the door, he assumed that they were calling him to meet the empress, what he did not expect when opening the door was to see a britannian knight. "His highness requests to see you" he said with no trace of emotion, he reluctantly nodded and said "let me get into my uniform", the knight nodded and stepped aside letting him close the door.

'_They probably want me as a spy'_ reasoned Xingke, he puts on the uniform and opens the door to see the knight waiting for him.

The knight acknowledges him and started to walk with long and powerful strides, Xingke follows him without question, but with caution. He notices they are walking past the Tianzi's chambers, '_something is definitely wrong' _he thinks putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. The knight stops in front of a door and opens it gesturing him to enter.

Inside, a dimly lit room with only a table and a small lamp, on the other side of the table sits a boy. He gestures him to seat, "please seat" it's not a request. He reluctantly sits, "what do you want?" he asks, hostility dripping from his voice. The boy just stares at him and calmly says, "I want to know where your loyalties lie".

The answer rings in his head for a bit, then he realizes, '_they are trying to buy me off'._ He suppresses the urge to hit the brat in front of him and asks "are you trying to buy me off!?". He calmly stares at him, and proceeds to talk opening his arms "in a way". He tries to respond but before he can open his mouth, the boy swiftly signals the knight behind him. The knight grabs his head and slams it against the table.

The boy continues with the same calm voice devoid of emotion and strangely soothing "as you may have heard there was an attempt on the Tianzi's life a few days pass" he nods. The boy leans in, "we believe it was the work of the eunuchs or one of the major political parties" that caught the newly pardon soldier's attention, he did not expect him to say that.

The boy leaned back, folding one hand over the other and putting his elbows on the table, "as you may have noticed the empress stands without allies" he said doing small gesture with one of his hands. He nodded, understanding what he was saying but not where this was leading to. "This is where you come in, you are going to be the first of her circle of allies, men loyal to the Tianzi, her guardians, friends, allies, and advisors, a hidden court per say, counteracting the eunuchs and major political circles in favor of the Tianzi".

"That is why we must guaranty your unquestionable loyalty to the Tianzi", Xingke could hear the sound of a sword unsheathing at his back.

"So Li Xingke" he extended his arm at him, "are you with us or against us?"

He took it.

* * *

**Thanks for reading please tell me what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Edit- This is not an update I simply edited the whole FanFic because I started reading it and noticed some grammar mistakes but what I found out is that in the first chapter I called Tianzi, Jiang, which is her first name, but on the second and third chapter I called her Lihua, which is her last name. I don't like the name Lihua as much as Jiang, but I used it because somehow it got into my head that Lihua was her first name and I didn't want to call her by last name. Since I like the name Jiang better I'm going to start using it in the next chapters and change where it previously said Lihua for, also I used this as an excuse to correct the grammar problems in the last two chapters. Also I added a small scene to the end of this chapter, its nothing relevant you can skip it if you like.**

**And I'm back from the dead, my fingers may be the size of crayons now (I'm eating a lot of tacos here in mexico) but that will not keep me from writing. And to everyone here who is reading my other FanFic _Knights of Honor_, don't worry, the next chapter is coming soon, I just decided to write this first because I thought it was going to be a short chapter, next thing I knew it was 4815 words long! it's the longest thing I have ever written.**

** Please review and tell me what you think, it fules the story.**

* * *

Li Xingke stood in the middle of the Royal Gardens, he was dressed in his new uniform, given to him by the Tianzi herself. He saw the young prince's knight standing opposite to him, his gaze never leaving the younglings and with a hand in the pommel of his sword.

He could not blame him, after such an attempt on the young empress' life and the harm that could have inflicted on the prince, what bodyguard wouldn't be alert at all times?. However he did notice that his gaze lingered on the prince more often and for a more prolonged periods of time. Even though he had heard the prince order him that in case of emergency, to save the empress first.

"You can't catch me!" echoed the voice of the young Tianzi through the gardens.

The aforementioned royalty was running through the gardens playing tag. Well it was mostly the empress being chased by a tired and frustrated prince, who do to his physical prowess or lack thereof, could not catch the girl.

Lelouch could not take it any more and leaned on the peach tree, a fit of coughing seizing him.

The young girl approached the boy and scolded him " You need to get in better shape, Lelouch" she teasingly said.

The boy raised his head, and between ragged breaths responded "You… don't need…... to be ….in….. shape for….." another fit of coughing seized him before he could finish "Chess".

"You know? not everything in this world is chess" she said, bringing a finger to her lower lip.

"But chess can be applied to everything" he countered.

She smiled wickedly, "I've tasted what comes out off you applying chess to tea, it's not good to put it kindly" she mocked.

"I'm gonna get it right one of these days" said a red-faced Lelouch.

She laughed " you've been saying that for over a year"

Xingke raised an eyebrow, it was unusual to see the empress so feisty and bold, nevertheless it was a welcome change from her usually shy demeanor.

He noticed the prince's lips quirk evilly, '_Uh oh' _thought Xingke. On his days guarding the empress he noticed that every time he had that diabolical smile shit was going to go down.

Apparently the Tianzi had arrived at the same conclusion, since she nervously took a step back.

"Say, you are looking especially beautiful today, your eyes are the loveliest shade of red I have seen in my entire life" he said with the most charming voice and lady-killer smile he could muster.

It had the desired effect, as she looked at her feet trying to hide her blush. Her legs visibly wobbled and she started fidgeting with her fingers. She stammered a few words, and tried her hardest not to melt right there, unsuccessfully I might add.

The Tianzi had returned to her former self, not without any help of course.

"Well th-thank y-you, you ha-have lovely ey-" However she was cut off by Lelouch lunging forward and touching her.

"Tag, you're it"

She stood there trying to process what had just happened, however, Lelouch bet her to it.

"That's what happens when you apply chess to everything" he said with a satisfied smirk.

She blinked a couple of times, realizing what had just happened. "That's cheating!" she suddenly cried.

Lelouch shook his head and crossed his arms "no, that's strategy"

"Naha"

"Yeha"

Xingke smiled as he watched the two kids bicker. From the corner of his eye he could also see Gottwald, he had relaxed, dropping his hand from his sword and smiling warmly.

It was moments like this that reminded Xingke, that the prince, even though he had a genius level intellect and could play the game of politics better than most, was still a kid

* * *

"I'll be back in no time, you'll see" said Lelouch with a soft voice.

Lihua only casted her gaze downwards in sadness.

He sighed and gently grabbed her chin, lifting her head to meet her eyes. "It's only a couple of weeks, I promise I'll be back for your birthday".

Lihua looked unconvinced, still she raised her pinky and said "pinky promise?".

Lelouch smiled and raised his hand as well, interlocking pinkies with her "pinky promise"

Lihua just nodded and freed herself of Lelouch grasp on her chin, lowering her head yet again.

Lelouch just nodded, he motioned Jeremiah, who picked up his bags and started to move towards the plane.

He smiled yet again, and gave her a hug, eliciting a small squeak from the younger girl. He pulled away and said, "don't worry I'll be back before you can notice I'm gone".

The girl nodded but didn't say a word. He gave her one last squeeze before turning and walking towards the plane.

"Lelouch!" came the voice of a little girl who surprised everyone in the room, including her, "come back soon and…" she hesitated, it was like something was stuck in her throat. Finally she finished "be careful."

The boy only nodded before getting into the plane.

She watched the plane fly away. It had been one and a half years since Lelouch arrived and he was going to visit his family in Britannia, as you could tell, the young empress wasn't particularly fond of this.

Her gaze lingered on the plane, before she turned back and started to walk rather quickly towards the gardens, her bodyguard, Li Xingke following closely behind. Much to Xingke's surprise, the girl briskly changed course, he could see her face for only a second, and what he saw was a stone face devoid of any emotion.

That's when he understood the sudden change of direction, Lelouch had told her to never show weakness in front of the eunuchs, and like everything Lelouch told her, she took it to heart.

He deduced that maybe she wanted to cry, or something like that.

As they neared the room, her strides became longer and her pace became quicker, so much that Xingke had to actually walk faster to catch up with her.

She hurriedly opened the door, the need to get in the room as fast as possible evident in her movements.

Once the young girl got in, she rushed towards her bed and buried her face on the pillow, a light streak of tears could be seen in her face. This was the first time she felt alone since the day Lelouch arrived.

Faint sobs could be heard throughout the room, the body of a girl shaking slightly.

Xingke didn't really know what to do, what was he supposed to do in a situation like this? comfortt her? was that even his place?, but before he could decide anything, a crackled voice filled the room.

"I hate her" came the voice of the Tianzi.

Xingke raised an eyebrow "I beg your pardon ?" he asked confused.

The girl raised her head, the dried phat the tears had left were still visible. "I hate her".

Xingke was even more confused now, "if I may ask? who do you hate?"

She laid her head on the pillow again, this time looking of to the distance .

"_Nunnally_" she almost spat.

Xingke was taken aback by the venom in the young Tianzi's voice, and the fact that she had openly declared to hate someone. The Tianzi wasn't bubbly and cheery and all of that, but she was definitely kind-hearted, that is why Xingke was so surprised.

Then came the matter of who was this Nunnally person, '_wasn't she the prince's sister?'_ he thought, before nodding to himself, indeed she was, he had heard the young prince talk about her, he adored her, in fact she was the reason he was going to Britannia.

'_but why would the empress hate her?'_ then it dawned on him, '_ooh, I better stay out of this one'_ he thought deciding that if the empress had any wrath in her, by God, he was not going to find out today.

He only nodded and said "of course your majesty".

* * *

The young empress sat there, fidgeting nervously with her fingers.

It was her birthday, and Lelouch had not arrived yet. Obviously she was distressed by this. That he hadn't arrived wasn't the problem, rather the reason he was delayed. Reports had said that EU fighters had engaged the Britannian escort in an attempt to take the prince hostage.

Communications had been cut off, so there was no way of knowing if the attack by EU forces had been successful.

This left a distresses Lihua wallowing in uncertainty. At her side Xingke casted a glaze at her remembering the three weeks without the prince.

The first day was the more eventful day per say, after some crying and a declaration of hate, then some more crying, the girl quietly went to sleep.

The next day and the day after was not that eventful, the girl found ways to entertain herself, and she didn't cry any more, even though it was evident she missed him. Things like putting two sets of tea when she made tea or taking out a chessboard setting all the pieces and examining it, probably trying to find a way to beat the prince when he got back, where evidence of this, not counting the long gazes at the sky.

Nevertheless, the girl remained her usual self to everyone but the keen observers, more importantly she didn't show any sign of anything to the eunuchs, a testament to the girls strength of character.

This impressed Xingke, and served to remind him that even though the empress was very emotive, she was also really strong.

He also was impressed on the positive spin the girl put on things, he noticed a small smile that grew wider with every day passed.

That smile was now replaced with a look and dark sense of worry, a sense that strangely, he shared.

"Britannian craft approaching" came the voice of one of the guards. Both Lihua and Xingke tensed up, the atmosphere was so thick that it could be cut with a knife, neither of them said a word as they waited for any news of what had happened.

To tell the truth, Lihua was petrified with fear, what if he had been captured? or worse, killed. She shook her head, she couldn't bear those thoughts, the thought of losing him.

The door opened, and from the outside came Lelouch, his clothes tattered and his hair sprawled.

To his surprise, Xingke exhaled in relief when he saw the young prince unharmed. However this did not compare to Lihua's reaction. She rushed forward and threw her arms around him, and almost screamed "I was so worried!, are you Ok!? please don't ever scare me like that again!"

Lelouch wrapped her arms around her and said "I'm ok, but Lihua, I can't breathe".

Jiang pulled away quickly, "I'm sorry, I was just so worried, and I'm glad you are Ok" she said meekly looking at her feet.

Lelouch Smiled "it's ok, that reminds me, I have something for you" he said motioning to an unnoticed Jeremiah, who was still wearing his piloting suit. He was holding a small box, wrapped in purple paper with a pink ribbon. He gave the box to Lelouch who only nodded in response.

He gave the box to Lihua "Sorry, the rest was destroyed in the attack, Happy Birthday!". She tentatively took it from his hands, unwrapping it and saying a quiet 'thank you'. She finished unwrapping the box, and carefully opened it.

Inside there was a strange white glass, with big red letters written on it, it said 'DO NOT APPLY CHESS'. She looked at the glass with curiosity, flipping it to examine it.

"It's a mug" explained Lelouch, "We use it in Britannia to drink coffee and…" he smiled playfully "... tea".

The only thing the occupants of the room could do was laugh.

This wasn't the most exotic gift she had gotten today, neither was it the more expensive. She had gotten today tea sets made from the finest porcelain in the world, jewels and gold from all the corners of the federation, and dresses made of the fines materials the world could offer, however, they all seemed trivial compared to the gift she now held.

* * *

"This is Zhou Xianglin, she will be our new intelligence officer" said the young empress to the small circle of loyal men before her. Notable in this meeting, where Xingke, Hong Gu the prison captain and inside man on the eunuchs' private force. Lelouch and Jeremiah were also there, the first one was sitting besides the empress, while the second one was leaning on the wall outside the circle.

Xiangling nodded before taking a seat besides Xingke, "She will be in charge of logistics and such" finished the empress.

She straightened a bit and turned to Hung Gu "Do the eunuchs suspect of anything?".

"I don't think so my empr-" however he was cut off by one of the men in the room.

"I don't think we should discuss such things in front of a _Britannian _much less a _prince_" he said pointing a finger at Lelouch, his voice laced with contempt and venom, "for all we know he could be working with the eunuchs, or informing his government of everything that goes on here" some of the people in the room nodded in agreement, others were taking aback by the boldness of the man, and lastly, others were insulted, you can figure out who.

Jeremiah tensed up and brought a hand to his sword's pommel, ready to defend his prince's honor.

However to Lelouch's and Jeremiah's surprise, it wasn't the Tianzi who defended him , rather, Xingke.

"It's in large part to him that we are able to have this meetings, in fact he was the one that started this group or 'secret court' he has done and will do more than you can even hope to accomplish" he said standing up "so you better shut up on matters you don't know anything about" his voice hardened and fear could be visible on the man's face, "and I suggest you have some respect for the empress and her friends, if you do not you'll be put to the sword" he emphasized his point by drawing his sword.

The man gulped in fear and looked for support where he found none, once it was clear he had lost the argument, and that he better shut his mouth and apologize if he wanted to live, he sat down and said "I apologize for questioning his loyalties, and for disrespecting the empress and her friends, I beg for forgiveness".

The empress just nodded, out of the corner of her eye she could see Lelouch giving Xingke a nod of gratitude. "Well, as we were saying, do the eunuch suspect anything?" she asked Hung Gu again.

"No my empress, I don't think so, they are blind and think you are still on their leash" he responded.

The empress nodded, "very well, we will discuss our next course of action in the next meeting, dismissed"

Everyone in the room except Lelouch, Lihua and Xingke got up and started leaving. Xianglin was about to exit, when a hand stopped her, she turned to see the owner of the hand, it was the britannian knight.

"The prince asks you to stay" he said in a deadpan tone.

She only nodded and turned around to see the young prince, both hands at his back, he gestured her to come near him, signaling that he wanted to speak to her.

She complied and started to walk towards him, she could see the other occupants of the room looking intently at her, once he was in front of him she stopped.

"What do you suggest our next course of action should be?" he asked. His voice held an impressive amount of charisma and power, it was a leaders voice, a commander's voice.

Still she was hesitant to answer the question of this britannian, "what's the point of this question?" she asked back.

"I'm trying to figure out if this intelligence officer is competent or if I have to get a new one, so what do you suggest our next course of action should be? he calmly answered, keeping his hands at his back.

She tensed s bit, and realized she had no choice but to answer the question "We should ally ourselves with a more powerful political party, I suggest the traditionalists"

He nodded, and calmly asked another question "why?".

She took a deep breath "the traditionalist are one of the major parties with a lot of power and influence, they want to see the return of power to the empress' hands, a lot of our goals coincide with theirs, and they have a private army roughly the size of the eunuch's own. They have been trying to get rid of the High Eunuchs for years now, and they'll jump at any chance to do so" She explained.

The prince nodded in satisfaction, Xianglin released the air she had unknowingly held.

"Just one more question" he said, "where do your loyalties lie?".

This was the scary question to Xianglin, but without hesitation and standing straight she answered "to the Tianzi".

"Very well, you have proven yourself competent" he said, much to her relief and surprise. "As the intelligence officer you must be close to the Tianzi to inform her of any recent developments and to give her important information" he brought a hand to his chin in thought, "Tell me, what is your military training".

"I'm proficient with most kinds of firearms and have experience in hand to hand combat, mostly with a knife or dagger" she said without flinching.

He nodded yet again and gestured to his knight who carried a box, the knight handed the box over to Xianglin, who curiously took it. She opened it only to find a servant's uniform.

"Congratulations, you've been promoted, from now on officially you'll be the Tianzi's personal maid, unofficially you'll supply her with valuable information on people and current events, you'll tell her if she's being lied to and give her a background on everyone she'll meet. It will also be your duty to protect her if things go south, the uniform has hidden pouches where you can put a gun and several knives, as well as a hidden blade" he explained.

She could only stare at the boy in amazement, she had just realized that even though the empress called the shots, he played the political game, probably better that anyone in the Chinese Federation.

"Now, go and change, there is a changing room over there" he said, gesturing to the corner of the room.

She nodded and went to change. Once she was out, the prince started to talk again "now that our new arrival is here, we should discuss what to do next" he walked towards the table he's seat and sat down "as she brought up the matter we've been discussing for the last couple of days" he took a deep breath "I think we should ally ourselves with the traditionalists".

"I agree" came Xingke's voice, "we need them".

Looking in the young empress face, you could see that she was displeased with the notion "But the traditionalist will never let me off the forbidden city" she said meekly, the commanding tone that she had just a few minutes ago was completely gone, this surprised the newly appointed maid.

However the biggest surprise for her was when the prince gently responded, his voice devoid of that coldness it held when she spoke to her "I know you don't like it, but we will only need their support until you have enough power to rule without them, once you have that kind of power we don't need them anymore" he made a short pause before continuing "nevertheless, it's your choice, if you don't want to do it we'll find another way, we will be with you no matter what you chose"

There was an uneasy silence lingering for a moment, then the empress spoke "We will ally with the traditionalist"

Lelouch looked unconvinced, to say the least "are you sure?".

The girl nodded "it's the fastest and more effective way to get rid of the eunuchs, besides we all need to make sacrifices"

He nodded "so it's settled tomorrow we'll send an emissary to negotiate with the traditionalists" everyone in the room nodded. Suddenly a smile appeared on the young boy's face "what do you say if we go and make some tea?" he asked the empress, how fervently nodded and proceeded to go out the door with everyone in tow.

Xianglin was extremely surprised to see the two younglings transformation. Once they had gone past the door, the empress turned to a shy almost awkward persona, full of kindness, a far cry from what she had seen in the meeting. While the young prince was still a hard ass in her opinion, he actually acted like a kid now.

While she was standing in the base of the peach tree she noticed something. While the prince was using a proper chinese tea-cup to try making his tea, keyword here being try. The empress was using a strange kind of glass with big red word written on it to make hers.

She looked in bewilderment towards Xingke, he noticed and said "It was a birthday present from Lelouch" then he just calmly turned to resume his watch of the empress.

She raised an eyebrow, she was present on the Tianzi's birthday half a year ago, as an observer in the distance of course. She had seen the wonderful tea sets that were given to her, made by the finest porcelain in China, and wondered why she wasn't using those instead of the ugly glass in front of her.

Another thing that bothered her, well perhaps bother wasn't the right word for it, was that Xingke had called the prince by name. To her knowledge every Chinese in the palace called the prince by title or nationality, never by name.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the voice of the Tianzi.

"Nope, still no good Lelouch"

* * *

A 13-year-old Lelouch stood in front of a 10-year-old Lihua, it had been three years since Lelouch had arrived and now it was time to go back. They both stood there in an uncomfortable silence.

Lihua raised her head and pleaded "please don't forget about me".

Lelouch looked at her with bewilderment "how could I? you are my best friend"

Even though she was saddened by the situation, she couldn't help but smile. She had never heard him call her his best friend, and she was overjoyed that he thought of her in that way.

"Besides we can send letters to each other since the traditionalist won't let us use email or the phone, that way we can stay in contact, you can tell me what happens in your week and so can I, we cal also send some packages to each other, you can send s¡me some of your tea and I can send you britannian herbs to experiment with" he said trying to cheer her up. Finally he removed something from his pocket and gave it to her. It was a picture of both of them making tea beneath the peach tree, she was confused, when was this taken?

Lelouch seemed to sense her confusion because he said "I had Jeremiah take it without anyone noticing" he smiled at her "keep it well hidden, you know how the traditionalist feel about cameras and photos" he moved in closer and gave her a long and tight hug, which she responded.

They stood there for a moment neither of the saying anything, just enjoying each others embrace. Eventually Lelouch had to pull back, he was met by some resistance, the girl didn't want to let go.

Finally Lelouch managed to pull back, Lihua just stared at him and said "good-" however she was cut off.

"Don't say that, its not a goodbye, I'm just not here right now" he said with confidence in his voice.

Neither of them noticed the couple talking behind them.

"You know?, our progress in overthrowing the eunuchs will be severely hurt by losing him" said Xianglin to Xingke.

After the first awkward days of impersonating a maid, Xiangli had actually come to enjoy her position, she had loosened up a bit, a privilege only the inner circle of the empress had, so only she and Xingke, and had actually developed a close friendship with him.

"I know, but we sometimes forget that he is only a boy, he probably misses his family and home" Xingke sighed "besides they will be exchanging letters, she can ask him for advice on the most important matters there"

Xiangli raised a brow "Is it safe to exchange such sensitive information on letters? letters the britannian government and the eunuchs could get a hold of?

Xingke responded without looking at her "I think Lelouch taught her some code, on the Britannian side Jeremiah will be receiving the letters, and you won't believe how the eunuchs chose to supervise the letters between them".

"Who?" she asked with curiosity.

This time Xingke did look at her, a smile on his face "Hung Gu".

She looked at him in disbelief "Really?, the prison captain?"

"Yes, he's been promoted to captain of the guard in the forbidden city, the eunuchs think they have him on their pockets" she could see his smile growing broader "they were never very bright" he turned his head back to the younglings "besides I don't think Lelouch would do anything that could hurt her, do you see how careful the guy is, that boy is paranoid"

"With reason" she interjected.

They stood in silence, watching the two hug.

Xianglin broke the silence.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" she asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Yes" he answered without thinking it twice.

"Are you sure?, I mean look at her" she said pointing at the empress.

"If you would have seen her the day he went for three weeks to britannia you would understand" he sighed "I mean that day, she was devastated, you wouldn't have noticed if you only saw her on the hallways, she hid it really well , but I got to see what she was really feeling, she felt alone, she was afraid that he wouldn't come back, she actually announced her hate for Nunnally, today she is just sad, maybe really sad but just sad" he looked at her smirking "and if there is one thing I have learned in my service it's that she is stronger than she looks".

She stood in silence for a second before she asked a question "Nunnally?".

"Yes, Lelouch's little sister" he answered.

The she remembered "Ah yes, he adores her, why would she hate…" then her eyes widened in realization "oh"

"Yep" came his response.

"I never pictured her for the jealous type" she said in amazement.

"Oh, believe me, she can get really jealous and angry" he said crossing his arms.

"Really? but she is so selfless, she shares everything, and I have never seen her angry" she said, still amazed.

"Well it seems the only thing she wants to keep for herself is him, and believe me when she is angry, its scary" he casually said with an undertone of worry. He was going to say something else, but noticed that the couple had stopped hugging and that Lelouch was walking towards the plane with Jeremiah by his side. "It seems they are finished" he said pointing at the couple and walking towards the empress, arriving at her side.

The three of them saw the prince walking towards the plane, just before he boarded he turned around and said "I'll come and visit as soon as I can", then he turned around and got into the plane.

Once the plane had taken flight, Xingke asked the empress "how was the goodbye?"

"It wasn't a goodbye, he just isn't here right now" she answers, hugging the photo close to her heart.

* * *

Lelouch entered the luxurious plane, he missed Nunnally and was eager to get back to britannia, but also felt a little sand because of leaving Jiang. They had become good friends and he was going to miss her, he was going to miss making tea with her, and he was going to miss teaching her chess, but mostly, he was going to miss the long evenings beneath the peach tree.

He was Also a bit worried for the group that he and Lihua had created, he knew that they would be ok, that they could pull it off, he had left her with Xingke and Xianglin, both very intelligent and capable individuals. Nevertheless he couldn't help but worry a bit for Lihua's safety, after all she was his best friend .

The plane took off and he gave one more look outside, the place that had been his home for three years, the place that forever would be his second home. But not because the amount of time he had spent there, rather because of the people and culture. He had grown to like Xingke and had become fond of Xianglin, he had come to accept the food and celebrations and traditions, they where almost second nature to him now, he had even begun to forget some Britannian traditions. However, those where not the main reasons he now considered the forbidden city a second home, the main reason was the young empress that had charmed him, the assignment that had turned into something more, into something he cared about as much as Nunnllay, into his best-friend.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Jeremiah fervently discussing politics with a man, a man in civilian clothing. This suprised Lelouch, wasn't this a military transport.

"Excuse me" he called, "what is a civilian doing here? this is a military transport" he asked with curiosity, but without a trace of hostility.

The man turned to face him. He was about 50 years old, his hair withe or maybe so blonde it looked like withe, despite his age he was stout and seemed to be in excellent shape, he had no doubt, ran a few marathons. He was wearing a Elbsegler, a fisherman's hat from the Elba river near the city of Hamburg in the north of Germany and a black sweater. He wore glasses and behind those glasses hid intelligent blue eyes, in those eyes knowledge and experience accumulated throughout various years and accomplishments, the eyes of someone extremely intelligent and visionary, the eyes of someone who knew more that he was telling you. His pose, rigid and focused, the posture of a man who confronted problems and unsatisfactory situations with an iron fist, some one who faced his problems instead of running away from them, some one who looked for an opportunity at every turn, but yet had a strict sense of honor and what was right.

Despite all of this qualities, there seemed to be a jovial undertone to the man, A jovial undertone that didn't seem present in his face or pose, but yet, existed.

"I'm delivering a package" he said, with an accent and a smile, probably a german accent deduced Lelouch. "And, I'm also inspecting the routes for my emerging currier company, Estafeta, we are going to be the first to offer service between the Chinese Federation and the Britannian Empire".

Lelouch nodded interested, "and what is your name good sir?"

"Gerd Grimm"

* * *

**Edit- So, that's that, this last bit is not really relevant, it's just an homage to my grandfather who died a year ago, and who's ashes we buried today, this small bit is dedicate to my grandma, who wanted to read what I had written, for her I included My dead Grandpa in the story before she read it, kind of a way of immortalizing him. If you read this last bit I thank you. **

**So, here it is, hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it, I have the worry that maybe it was a little rushed, personally I like it, it's a short story and I have dedicated 3 chapters to their childhood, it seems enough.**

**As always tell me what you think, what you want to see, what you don't want to see, anything pretty much.**

**Anyway, with this chapter we exit the childhood of our protagonist and next chapter we will begin the teenage years, its going to be fun. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, sorry for the late update, on the last chapter I made an edit of the whole story changing the name Lihua for Jiang, anyway I got reviews that Lihua is actually her first name, so I just changed it back, sorry for the inconvenience and if you got used to the name Jiang.**

**Review and tell me what you think, really it fuels the story.**

* * *

Lihua ran toward her room with barely contained excitement and joy. Her hands clung to an envelope pressed against her chest.

A letter from her Prince.

Behind her Xingke and Xiangli and a girl with black hair and japanese clothing struggled to keep up with her. You could hear them calling her, telling her to slow down. But she couldn't slow down, Lelouch couldn't wait.

It had been to years since he had left and this one was one of multiple letters he had sent her, in fact he sent her one every week maybe two. Still that didn't diminished the excitement and joy she felt when receiving his letters, the joy she felt was equal to the one she had when his first letter arrived.

She entered her room, before quickly tearing up the envelope and dumping its contents on the table. Two envelopes fell out of it, sawing a bit before gently landing on it. One of the envelopes had her name on it and the other had Xingke's.

The door opened yet again revealing a slightly tired Xingke, a Xiangling that seemed to have declared war on her skirt and the japanese girl with a sweet smile in her face.

Kaguya Sumeragi.

The japanese girl had been sent to the Chinese Federation in order to negotiate on Sakuradite shipments, or at least that was the official reason. The real reason as described by Lelouch in one of his letters was the negotiation between the eunuchs and the secret Kyoto group for support against Britannia. Kaguya had been sent there for the same reason Lelouch had, to make friends with the empress.

After hearing this information Lihua had been hesitant to approach the girl, however after expressing her concern to Lelouch on a letter and his consequent response she had grown to trust her and considered her a friend.

"What does it say?" asked Kaguya eagerly as one of her favourite pastimes was gossiping on Lihua's and Lelouch's friendship.

"I don't know, I haven't opened it yet" said Lihua handing the other envelope to Xingke who wordlessly took it.

"Well that's strange, usually when you receive something from him it takes you seconds to open it" Kaguya responded with a coy smile.

"Well… yes, he is my best friend" said Lihua blushing.

"You sure that's all he is?" asked Kaguya walking closer to Lihua and attempted to grab the envelope only to have her hand slapped away by an undignified empress.

Kaguya smiled at the possesive quirks of the empress, nobody could touch anything from Lelouch, not the mug, not the photo, not the letters, nothing. She remembered when she tried to tease her, she said that they were sending her to Britannia and that she was going to meet the prince and maybe marry him. Of course it was all a joke and for the sake of fun, but the empress was in a bad mood for two days, grumbling and even growling, muttering under her breath and even incarcerating someone who brought her the wrong tea. Of course he only stayed in jail for half an hour before the empress came to his senses and set him free, but the point was that she was in a bad mood.

"What else would he be?" asked Lihua in bewilderment. On the background bells started ringing inside Xingke's head.

"Ohhh I don't know…, your boyfriend maybe!" she cheerfully chirped, nudging her with her teasingly with her elbow.

Naturally being twelve years old, Lihau was repulsed by the idea or at least she seemed to act that way, Kaguya could never tell, the girl was crafty and could feed you the information she wanted you to know, nothing less nothing more.

Lihua coiled back, making something that sounded between a squeak and squeal before blushing and tripping over her words in an attempt to say something. "What are….. you talking about…..I don't like those weird things like YOU DO!" she hurriedly tried to answer, thinking of her response in the spot and failing miserably.

Of course Kaguya being two years older than Lihua had many interests the young empress hadn't developed, boys being one of them, a fact that Kaguya was more than happy to remind the empress.

"Of course, of course" said Kaguya with sarcasm so thick that it could stop Jeremiah on his tracks while he shouts "FEEL MY LOYALTY" a the top of his lungs. "What does the letter say?" asked Kaguya with renewed curiosity at the subject at hand. She started to mover her hands towards the envelope, but as you might expect, Lihua negated any of her attempts to get any information by slapping her hands away for the second time that day.

"Aww come on!" pleaded Kaguya "you never let me see those letters" she pouted and crossed her arms, before sitting on the floor in mock hurt and started doing a fake tantrum.

Lihuas response was equally childish. She stuck her tongue out and said "that's because they are meant for my eyes only!" raising her voice with an overly dramatic tone and bravado.

Kaguya could only roll her eyes at Lihua's dramatic and theatrical response, if what she heard from Xingke was right then it was another "quality" she got from the famous prince.

Lihua opened the envelope with careful hands having the utmost care, trying to not ripple it tear it. She never told anyone, but she kept all his letters secretly and securely stored.

Lihua finally managed to get the letter out without damaging it and started reading.

**Dear Lihua,**

**How are you?, I hope you're good, well more than good actually I hope you are excellent. I have good news, but first make sure that Xingke or Xiangli gets the other letter, its important. Now that we got that out of the I wanted to tell you that I received that new brand of tea you created, was it peach with lavender? It was sublime, truly a masterpiece, one I would not be capable of creating. Don't think that I'm saying this just because I'm your friend, I got an outsider's look, both Milly and Nunnally loved it and actually want you to send more, of course I will be happy to receive some more, since I can't make it myself.**

A frown appeared on the face of the empress, she had made that tea for him and only him, not so he could waste it on unimportant people. She actually felt a little hurt, however it was forgotten and replaced with a beaming smile as she read the rest of the letter.

**Anyway, to the real reason I sent you this letter, apart that you are my best friend and I enjoy talking to you. I'm moving to Japan next year and starting to study at Ashford Academy, it's a prestigious school filled with godforsaken nobles but you've probably never heard of it. The only redeeming quality and also why I accepted the offer is something you have already figured out, I'm going to be able to visit you there, the letters will arrive faster and as I said before, I'm going to be able to visit. Please send more tea.**

**With Regards, **

**Your friend Lelouch**

**P.S- Say hello to Kaguya for me.**

The girl was so enthralled with the letter that she didn't notice Kaguya sneaking behind her and peaking at the letter, gasping in surprise when she finished reading it.

"Lihua!, you have never told me hello for him" the smaller girl jumped, startled. She quickly puts the letter away and looks at the floor avoiding the unasked question.

"In how many letters does he tell you to say hello to me?" asked Kaguya curiously suppressing a grin.

Lihua kept her eyes at the floor and muttered something incomprehensible as she fiddled with her fingers.

"Come again" Kaguya said teasingly, already knowing the answer to her question.

"In most of the letters" she grumbled, still having her eyes locked to the floor.

Kaguya decided to let her off the hook "anyway, that is great news, you will see him again soon I'm sure of it" Lihua nodded, the bright smile gracing her lips once again.

That day, through mindless and meaning less teasing, a seed had been planted on Lihua's mind, a seed that would take some time to sprout and even more time to become something beautiful.

* * *

Li Xingke finished reading the letter from the prince. In truth he was glad that the prince was coming back in the near future. To his surprise he found out that he actually started missing the young prince, Life without the young prince had become boring-er, it was not that he was bored to protect the empress, he loved his job and carried it out with efficiency and eagerness.

It was just that 'The Black Rebellion' as Lelouch had dubbed it was not the same, don't get him wrong it was progressing nicely, they had allied themselves with minor political parties and started recruiting men for a private army at the disposition of the empress called The Order Of The Black Knights, another thing named by Lelouch. Their commander-in-chief, second to the empress of course, was a man who was only called by his codename, Zero, guess who he was.

Anyway, he was getting off track, as he was saying it was not that the Black Rebellion was doing badly, it was just that compared to the first three years of the rebellion, this last two had been rather dull.

The long and bold strides that feared nothing towards progress, the raw feel of excitement and righteousness he felt with every step forward, he longed for that again, he longed for the bureaucratic and cautious pace of the rebellion to end.

Regardless, he was no idiot, he knew that the passive state of the rebellion was needed, they needed to gain their forces and influence before they started to move forward again, they needed just enough to get the empress out if things went south.

"Xingke" came Xianglin's, voice greeting him. He turned his head around to see his dear friend in that maid outfit she absolutely despised. "Is that a new letter from our dear prince" she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Even though Xingke considered Lelouch a friend, Xiangli didn't, sure he respected him, but also treated him with a measure of distrust and hostility.

"Yep, apparently he will be able to visit soon" he told her handing her the letter.

Xiangli huffed in annoyance "well that's great, soon the forbidden city will be frozen at his presence".

"You should trust him more... after all the empress is very fond of him" he said without looking at her. He knew of the prince's cold and collected demeanor, but he had also seen the passion and kindness that rested in his soul, something that Xiangling refused to notice.

A squeak was heard from beyond the Tianzi's chamber where they stood guarding, probably Kaguya teasing her again.

Xiangli scoffed "it's not that I don't trust him, I just think the empress could do better, and besides I don-"

"You don't like a Britannian in Chinese affairs" he interrupted her, resisting the urge to face palm at Xinglings narrow-mindedness, he continued "It's exactly that kind of thinking that makes him the Tianzi's best friend and confidant".

Her eyes narrowed in determination "explain" she demanded.

This time he did turn to face her, and asked an unrelated question, or at least unrelated in Xiangling's opinion.

"What would you have done before meeting Lelouch and joining us?" he asked her.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked back confused at the question.

Xingke just stared at her "I mean what would you have done if there were no Black Knights, who would you have joined or what would you have done?"

Still confuse, Xiangling answered the question "join a party that supports the empress and her authority, why?"

Xingke sighed and turned away "and in there lies the problem, you would have joined a party that claims to support the Tianzi, still they have no contact with the Tianzi, how would they know what she wants. In the end like the eunuchs they will be choosing for her, deciding her journey and fate, it may be a journey and fate towards freedom, but it will not be the path she chose, it would be the path you chose for her. After all the talk and bickering of an empress free of the eunuchs' influence you would be doing the exact same thing, choosing for her".

He extended his hand pointing in a random direction to emphasize his next words.

"That Britannian influence you hate so much is the only reason we have the current empress! He set her free, he gave her independence, why!? because of all of us, the traditionalist that want to put the traditional empress back, the eunuchs that want her as her thrall, and us, the thousands of parties that want to set her free, he was the only one smart enough or **kind **enough to let her choose!

* * *

A thirteen year old Lihua was bouncing on her toes in anticipation, the bright smile that emanated from her could light up the whole room. Kaguya was standing aside smiling brightly as well, but nowhere near as bright as our dear empress. On the back stood a tense Xingke and Xianglin with a neutral expression.

You may have guessed what was happening. Finally after three years Lelouch was coming to visit. This of course made the empress extremely happy as well as extremely nervous. She checked and double-checked and double-double-checked her dress for any inconveniences, she had to look her best for Lelouch.

Finally the doors opened and a collective gasp of surprise left their mouth. Jeremiah was standing there, his purple suit replaced by a white one, the left side of his face seemed to be gone, replaced by a metallic eye and face, it was orange.

Soon after Jeremiah entered so did Lelouch.

He was a lot taller 'and handsomer' said a little voice in Lihua's mind. He was a head taller than Kaguya and two heads taller than Lihua and probably as tall as Xingke. The moment he was beyond the door Lihua rushed forward to greet him with a tight hug that he returned.

She had to stand in the tip of her feet to reach him.

He caught the jumping Lihua and returned the hug with equal affection, both of them just stood there for a moment until Lihua pulled back. only to be met by his piercing amethyst eyes, the force of his gaze made her blush, but she soon got it under control.

"You got bigger" he said with a smile and matter of factly.

Lihua also smiled at hits him softly on the chest "You oaf! three years and that's all you say" she said in fake anger, she was glad he was back.

He just shrugged while still holding her "I have my moments" the smile never left his lips.

His voice was deeper and secretly, it appealed to Lihua, a lot.

"You must be tired from your trip, do you want your old room prepared?" asked Lihua backing off completely finally setting the entirety of her feet in the floor.

"Actually, I was hoping we could have diner" said Lelouch composing himself.

His answer immensely pleased the Tianzi.

"It's good to have you back, Lelouch" she said quietly and calmly however that didn't hide the strength of her happiness.

"It's good to be back" said Lelouch stepping away to greet the other people in the room.

He shook hands with Xingke and gave a nod of acknowledgment towards Xianglin. Eventually he made his way to Kaguya.

Meanwhile Lihua told Xianglin to warn the servants about dinner plans.

It seemed like Lihua wasn't the only person who thought Lelouch handsome as Kaguya was in a daze. She snapped out of it when Lelouch was only inches away from her.

Lelouch was a Britannian prince, and he greeted a lady like one, he gently grabbed one of Kaguya's and brought it to his lips "it's a pleasure to meet you, lady Sumeragi, I must admit you are more beautiful than I imagined".

This prompted two read faces, both for different reasons. Kaguya sputtered some nonsense not being able to get her blush under control.

Lelouch backed down and said "Now if you excuse me, I will change into some more comfortable clothes, I assume we will be dining in the same room that we did years ago"

Lihua nodded.

Lelouch turned around and started walking away "Orange, come with me" he said gesturing to his knight that had been exchanging greetings with Xingke. The knight nodded and said "right away my lord".

As they were walking away, they left two girls smiling like idiots, the only difference was that Kaguya knew why she was smiling like an idiot while Lihua was none the wiser.

"He is really handsome and charming" said Kaguya dreamly.

A part of Lihua was deeply bothered by her comment however, the other part of her was too dazed, so she just kept smiling and nodded in agreement.

"And he's got a nice ass" complemented Kaguya, forgetting all her etiquette classes and lessons she was so adept at carrying it out.

This did elicit a response, as a red-faced Lihua smacked Kaguya in the back of the head.

* * *

A circle of men dressed in fine red robes sat discussing a matter of utmost importance, murmuring and muttering could be heard as they waited for the last of them to arrive..

Finally they all entered the room, the doors closed and locked behind them.

A short and fat man got up, his face heavy with makeup he exhaled and with a squeaky voice said "as you all know the Britannian prince is back"

Everyone in the room nodded.

"And I think we can all agree that he is a bad influence on the empress"

They were exclamations and nods of agreement all around the room.

"We may lose our hold on the empress, we can not allow this to happen!"

Again. they were nods and exclamations of agreement, one of them said "but what shall we do?"

The room was filled with shouting and exclamations, each of them saying what they thought was the right course of action.

"SILENCE!" said the fat and short man.

The room went quiet.

"I suggest we take care of him" said the fat man.

"But how!? if we do that the Britannians will declare war" said another one.

"We can blame it on that Kyoto group that came here last year, they support Japanese terrorist, it will be the perfect excuse".

Everyone in the room agreed with delight.

* * *

**So I hope you like it, I definitely enjoyed writing it, tell me what you like, what you don't, what you want to see and what you don't want to see, anything it fuels the story.**

**In other news you may have noticed that I put the black knights and Zero in the story, it was suppose to be a meaningless cameo, however i started to think that maybe it would b interesting to make a rebellion and such, maybe with geass, and Kallen and everyone else. This story is suppose to be a short story 8-10 chapters long, and is suppose to be pure romance but if you guys want a rebellion story, that will definitely be much longer tell me. **

**So because of that I decided to put a poll on my profile with three options.**

**1) Pure romance story**

**2) I will start a different story, beginning with this chapter and also finish this one as pure romance**

**3)This story will become the serious long rebellion story.**

**Check it out if you are interested, also I have to admit, I'm kinda biased for 1 and 2 and will choose whichever I like better regardless of the votes, this will just help me decide and see what you want to see.**

**Thanks for reading please review. **


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